A row style is an individual style to display only an individual record within a view. You can choose between <a href="topic:views/style-node">node</a> or <a href="topic:views/style-fields">fields</a>. For example, a node type view would display one node per row; a user type view would display one user per row.

When you choose <strong>fields</strong>, you must have entries in the <a href="topic:views/field">Fields</a> section to produce an output. To set some options for fields, read <a href="topic:views/style-fields">here</a>.

Some row styles use <em>fields</em> which means you may select from the available fields to display. Others row styles do not - they are able to use the base type and create a display. Usually, row styles that do not use fields produce less efficient (slower) views, so bear this in mind when contemplating the performance of your site.

When you choose <strong>node</strong> the complete node will display through Drupal's standard <em>node_view()</em> function. You can choose some <a href="topic:views/style-node">options</a>.

When styling views, it's important to realize that the unformatted styles will take the majority of styling from more specific templates. In an unformatted style, the row style will provide theming. For instance, in a view that uses fields as its primary data, the views-view-fields.tpl.php will provide the theming.

Mustardseed created a videocast on row theming that can be viewed <a href="http://mustardseedmedia.com/podcast/episode30">here</a>.
